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Infection Control Course

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Course Objectives

At the end of the training participants will be able to:

State their obligations and that of their employers with regard to infection control

Understand the consequences of poor infection control practice

State the actions to be taken in relation to the infection control requirements put in place at their place of work

Identify the correct actions with regard to a range of different infection control situations.

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This course will help you to get them before they get you, your family & your clients!

The Legal Aspects

Disease Transmission

Hand Washing & Gloving

Housekeeping

Needles & Other Sharps

Waste Disposal.

Infection Control Topics

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Employer must:

Ensure safe place of work
Provide safe equipment
Provide information, training, instruction & supervision.

Employee:

Has a duty to take reasonable care of their own health & safety
Has a duty of care to other employees, clients, visitors, etc
Must co-operate with the employer in performing duties under the act and report any health and safety concerns.

Health & Safety at Work (Etc.) Act 1974

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Employers must undertake a suitable & sufficient risk assessment. This assessment:

Should identify the significant risks arising out of work

Should enable the employer or the self-employed person to identify and prioritise the measures that need to be taken to comply with the relevant statutory provisions

Should be appropriate to the nature of the work and such that it remains valid for a reasonable period of time.

Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations

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Rapid population growth

Increased poverty

Expansion of the population into "remote" areas

Environmental degradation

Improved transportation

Deteriorating health provision infrastructure

Poor disease control and disease prevention.

Why have the number of infection cases increased?

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Health care facilities are the ideal settings for transmission of disease

Whenever clinical procedures are performed, clients are at risk of infection during and immediately following the procedure

Service providers and other staff are constantly exposed to potentially infectious materials as part of their work

Many of the people seeking health care services are already sick and may be more susceptible to infections

Many of the people seeking services have infections that can be transmitted to others

Services are sometimes provided to many clients in a limited physical space, often during a short period of time.

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Micro-Organisms on your skin can lead to infections

Resident micro-organisms live within the skin and are difficult to remove

Transient micro-organisms acquired during daily living can be easily removed by hand washing with plain soap and water

Hand washing: Reduces the number of infectious micro-organisms on your hands

Reduces client sickness and death caused by infections.

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Always wash your hands

Immediately when you arrive at work
Before & after attending to each clients personal needs
Before putting on and after taking off gloves
After touching any instrument or object that might be contaminated with blood or other body fluids, or after touching mucous membranes
After you handle blood, urine, or other specimens
After using the toilet
Before leaving work
Before and after handling food.

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Steps of routine hand washing

Wet hands thoroughly with water, apply cleanser, then rub palm to palm

Right palm over back of left, fingers interlaced, and then vice versa

Palm to palm, fingers interlaced

Back of fingers opposing palms with fingers interlaced

Rotational rubbing of thumbs enclosed by palm

Rotational rubbing backwards and forwards with fingertips of right hand in palm of left, and vice versa. Don’t forget you wrists!.

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Sterile Surgical Gloves

Single Use Gloves (Disposables)

Utility Gloves.

The main glove types used within the healthcare

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Develop and post cleaning schedules where all housekeeping staff can see them. Make sure that cleaning schedules are closely maintained
Always wear gloves (preferably thick utility gloves) when cleaning
Use a damp or wet mop or cloth for walls, floors, and surfaces instead of dry-dusting or sweeping to reduce the spread of dust and micro-organisms
Scrubbing is the most effective way to remove dirt and micro-organisms. Scrubbing should be a part of every cleaning procedure
Wash surfaces from top to bottom so that debris falls to the floor and is cleaned up last. Clean the highest fixtures first and work downward--for example, clean ceiling lamps, then shelves, then tables, and then the floor
Change cleaning solutions whenever they appear to be dirty. A solution is less likely to kill infectious micro-organisms if it is heavily soiled.

General Housekeeping Guidelines

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Low Risk Areas

Toilets and Sluice Rooms

Client Care Areas.

Different cleaning schedules for different areas

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All spillages should be dealt with quickly to reduce potential contamination, transmission of infection and reduce the risk of slips/trips/falls

Clinical / Care staff are responsible for the initial clean of blood or body fluids. It is not the responsibility of domestic staff

Those cleaning up spills must follow the local procedures and use any spill kits provided.

Cleaning up spills

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Recapping hypodermic needles after use. This is one of the major causes of sharp-object injuries
Manipulating used sharps (bending, breaking, or cutting hypodermic needles), which can cause the blood inside to splatter or cause staff to accidentally injure themselves
One staff member accidentally sticks another staff member when carrying unprotected sharps
Sharp items are found in areas where they are unexpected, such as on surgical drapes or bed linen
Handling or disposing of waste that contains used hypodermic needles or other sharps
A sudden movement by the client at the time of injection causes a provider to be accidentally injected.

Healthcare workers can become injured when:

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Handle hypodermic needles and other, sharps minimally after use and use extreme care whenever sharps are handled or passed

Use the "hands-free" technique when passing sharps during clinical procedures

Not bend, break, or cut hypodermic needles before disposal

Not recap needles

Dispose of hypodermic needles and other sharps properly.

To prevent injuries you should:

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Minimises the spread of infections and reduces the risk of accidental injury to staff, clients, visitors, and the local community

Helps provide an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere

Reduces odours

Attracts fewer insects and does not attract animals

Reduces the likelihood of contamination of the soil or ground water with chemicals or micro organisms.

Proper Waste Disposal

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Proper Waste Disposal

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What is meant by the term healthcare associated infections
The chain of infection and how this informs infection prevention and control practice
Expand on earlier session to ensure understanding of the routes of transmission of micro-organisms
Individual roles and responsibilities for the three levels of decontamination
Use single-use items appropriately
Conducting a risk assessment in respect of ensuring infection prevention and control
The different alert organisms and conditions that pose an infection risk
How to safely manage patients with specific alert organisms.

Level 2 structure of discussion will cover: